Dave Kosak Interview (5.1) - Wowhead

Hi everyone, wowhead just posted an interview with Dave Kosak about 5.1 and different design choices put into the quests I thought some people here might want to discuss it as daily quests are a hot topic right now in regards to MOP

" I haven't even started my cloud serpent mount, and I'm really excited about that faction, just had other things to do."

Ha. Hahah!

I'm not daily hater (i'm one of those who did every possible daily everyday if not exalted), just started doing pandaren ambassador on my second toon, but i just can't agree on that. Cloud serpents were shittiest dailies after jade serpent AC ones, and i'm really happy that with rep buff, i'm already halfway revered after 2 days of dailies... dunno how that did happen, never saw any eggs.

This whole interview (in fact, every interview) feels to me like it's from some other game.

The stuff about Tyrande does kinda piss me off.
He claims that they did not intend to put her in a bad light, yet they wanted her to charge headlong at a fortified position with a ""casualties be damned"" attitude. I'm not sure how that wouldn't have put in anything but a bad light.
If 5.1 is Kosak's idea of "bad ass Night Elves" as he said a while ago then I have little faith in Night Elf lore anymore.

Sorry to sound so critical over it, but Night Elves have kinda gotten the short end of the stick and the trend continues.

Tyrande was headstrong in War3, but she wasn't stupid. And that is how she is portrayed as in 5.1. Anyone could figure out its a trap, and they make Tyrande go "/shrug LETS GO DO EETTT."

You can make Varian a better lead in other ways than at the expense of the other faction leaders. I wanted the "Trials of the High King" nonsense, but not in a way of like "Oh Varian is the High King because he's not an absolute moron like Tyrande is."

Your question gets to the real heart of it there. A lot of people, as soon as the expansion launched, felt dailies were mandatory and started grinding their faces off--which is a pretty terrible way to play dailies.

The stuff about Tyrande does kinda piss me off.
He claims that they did not intend to put her in a bad light, yet they wanted her to charge headlong at a fortified position with a ""casualties be damned"" attitude. I'm not sure how that wouldn't have put in anything but a bad light.
If 5.1 is Kosak's idea of "bad ass Night Elves" as he said a while ago then I have little faith in Night Elf lore anymore.

Sorry to sound so critical over it, but Night Elves have kinda gotten the short end of the stick and the trend continues.

To be fair, that's very much the attitude she had in Warcraft 3's Sentinel campaigns. If the enemy was there, you bet your biscuits she was going to attack; she even raided a Warden-run prison to free Illidan just on the off chance he would cooperate and bolster her forces without giving thought to what would happen if he turned traitor or what would happen after the war was over, for better or worse.

The problem is, the intention's there (I could see it between smacking around waves of cannon fodder) but the execution makes her feel more petulant than headstrong. It's like they tried to give her back her spine, but put it in upside-down and skewed kind of funky.

You can make Varian a better lead in other ways than at the expense of the other faction leaders. I wanted the "Trials of the High King" nonsense, but not in a way of like "Oh Varian is the High King because he's not an absolute moron like Tyrande is."

In all fairness, I did call that they were going to hand the other Alliance leaders either the 'slavering fanboy' or 'incompetent' balls to shill the whole development. It's why I've never been very jazzed about the whole thing, political ramifications aside.

The stuff about Tyrande does kinda piss me off.
He claims that they did not intend to put her in a bad light, yet they wanted her to charge headlong at a fortified position with a ""casualties be damned"" attitude. I'm not sure how that wouldn't have put in anything but a bad light.
If 5.1 is Kosak's idea of "bad ass Night Elves" as he said a while ago then I have little faith in Night Elf lore anymore.

Sorry to sound so critical over it, but Night Elves have kinda gotten the short end of the stick and the trend continues.

people wanted Tyrande to be more then a housewife to malfurion and show some kind of night elven fury again, so her suddenly going all 'sod the peasants just kill them all!' is what you get as a result.

If you want to spend the valor points you get from dungeons or tillers dailies, there was no way around doing dailies for the factions who offer gear (in 5.0). Thats why dailies felt/feel mandatory.
With the upgrade system in 5.1 this is a bit better, but just a bit.

people wanted Tyrande to be more then a housewife to malfurion and show some kind of night elven fury again, so her suddenly going all 'sod the peasants just kill them all!' is what you get as a result.

Except there's more that can be done than "doormat wife" and "idiot commander."

Tyrande wasn't stupid in Warcraft 3, even if she was headstrong.

If you want to spend the valor points you get from dungeons or tillers dailies, there was no way around doing dailies for the factions who offer gear (in 5.0).

Unless you do...you know...raiding...for valor...and then they changed rep needed for some stuff...

If you want to spend the valor points you get from dungeons or tillers dailies, there was no way around doing dailies for the factions who offer gear (in 5.0). Thats why dailies felt/feel mandatory.
With the upgrade system in 5.1 this is a bit better, but just a bit.

There is not one single thing that Blizzard has done to make dailies feel mandatory. It is all a creation of the players who are still stuck in the Cataclysm mentality of being required to cap and spend VP points every week.

To be fair, that's very much the attitude she had in Warcraft 3's Sentinel campaigns. If the enemy was there, you bet your biscuits she was going to attack; she even raided a Warden-run prison to free Illidan just on the off chance he would cooperate and bolster her forces without giving thought to what would happen if he turned traitor or what would happen after the war was over, for better or worse.

The problem is, the intention's there (I could see it between smacking around waves of cannon fodder) but the execution makes her feel more petulant than headstrong. It's like they tried to give her back her spine, but put it in upside-down and skewed kind of funky.

Except back then when she said she was going to do something she damn well did it and executed her strategy well.
The Scenario features the "gung ho" (Which I feel is a good way of putting it) attitude, except it had no planning involved and she in the end didn't go ahead with her wishes. So it isn't like WC3 at all in the way people enjoyed her.

Lets be honest rushing to attack a fortified temple with hostages in them is dumb. There is nothing about it that gives you the impression she had even the slightest bit of forethought about making a move. In the past she may have been quick to act on such a situation, but she was always decisive when she acted not going in blindly as they've set her up as.

---------- Post added 2012-12-06 at 04:18 PM ----------

Originally Posted by Trassk

people wanted Tyrande to be more then a housewife to malfurion and show some kind of night elven fury again, so her suddenly going all 'sod the peasants just kill them all!' is what you get as a result.